1. Field
The following description relates to a pipeline system including feedback routes and a method of operating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many recent processors have a pipeline structure for performance improvement. Accordingly, data processing is typically divided into a plurality of stages and a plurality of data items are processed in parallel during different stages of one cycle so that the data processing per cycle is maximized.
The stages of the pipeline structure are formed of functional blocks that perform different functions of data processing. In the pipeline structure, since the data processing is performed while the data items sequentially pass through the functional blocks, when latency increases during data processing in a specific functional block, other functional blocks in a previous stage must be stalled.
That is, if a functional block of a next stage is not ready to receive data, a functional block of a current stage is stalled. Accordingly, a functional block of the previous stage may be stalled too, and thus all of the functional blocks may be stalled. This is referred to as a deadlock.